Report: USA Pro Challenge owners step aside

The Denver Post reported on Wednesday that USA Pro Challenge owners Rick and Richard Schaden have given up ownership of the 2.HC race in Colorado, providing race organisers the opportunity to formulate a new ownership group to carry the race forward.

The Schadens have owned the race since its inception five years ago but have had trouble securing a title sponsor or new investors to offset the annual losses. The race reportedly lost $2 million this year.

Race CEO Shawn Hunter told the newspaper that organisers are hoping to piece together a new broad-based ownership group rather than relying on a single family to support the event.

"People want to know there's a plan for long-term success and they want to see a homegrown ownership group. Having more than one individual in charge is a good thing," Hunter told Denver Post reporter Jason Blevins.

"I think there are a lot of people here in Colorado who will be a part of this group and some people on the national level who have watched what we have built and want to be a part of it," he said. "The goal is not just raising money. We want strategic investors who understand this opportunity and are willing to grow it."

The newspaper reported that Denver businessman Ken Gart, who leads Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's "Pedal Colorado" initiative to improve cycling in the state, has joined Hunter in the search for a new ownership group.

The Schaden's spent an estimated $20 million over the past five years to keep the race afloat, cutting its losses from $10 million in the first year to $2 million this year, according to the Denver Post, which also reported that the Schadens did not sell the race.

Rick Schaden told the newspaper in August that he did not believe the race, which reportedly generates an annual economic impact of more than $100 million for the state, was an asset that cold be sold.